Food for thought courtesy of Ayn Rand

I’m not particularly sure how I ended up in this rabbit hole. However I’ve constructed a lengthy list of texts and works by some significant philosophers that have recently piqued my interest. Among them is Ayn Rand, whom I was introduced to her works several years ago. Life experience and my general desire for information has enabled me to be in a place where I can actually understand and interpret many of her ideals and I came across the following excerpt and found it quite interesting. I will preface it by seeing this is not a subliminal posting of any kind, I have no agenda. It’s just one of the many things I’ve read in the past 24 hours that has lingered in brain:““Love is blind, they say; sex is impervious to reason and mocks the power of all philosophers. But, in fact, a person’s sexual choice is the result and sum of their fundamental convictions. Tell me what a person finds sexually attractive and I will tell you their entire philosophy of life. Show me the person they sleep with and I will tell you their valuation of themselves.

No matter what corruption they’re taught about the virtue of selflessness, sex is the most profoundly selfish of all acts, an act which they cannot perform for any motive but their own enjoyment – just try to think of performing it in a spirit of selfless charity! – an act which is not possible in self-abasement, only in self-exultation, only on the confidence of being desired and being worthy of desire. It is an act that forces them to stand naked in spirit, as well as in body, and accept their real ego as their standard of value. They will always be attracted to the person who reflects their deepest vision of themselves, the person whose surrender permits them to experience – or to fake – a sense of self-esteem .. Love is our response to our highest values – and can be nothing else.” – Ayn Rand

I also really loved this one as well:

“In order to deal with reality successfully – to pursue and achieve the values which his life requires – man needs self-esteem; he needs to be confident of his efficacy and worth.”

Can you tell “A New Concept of Egoism,” by Ayn Rand is on my summer reading list 😛